Greetings, Parents and Staff!

What an exciting newsletter this is for Julia’s Garden. Please see below for important community announcements.

Open Houses Next Week 🏠
Sneak Peek Week in Taller
Feb. 25 - 28th, 1 - 4:00 PM daily
This is a unique opportunity for you and your child to visit Taller before anyone else!  If your child is 5+ years, you should have received an invitation to join us in Palazzo this week. Everyday after morning dismissal until 4:00 PM, Ms. Louise and Ms. Katherine will be available to answer questions while you and your child explore the work set out in our newest classroom.  We hope everyone invited is able to take a few minutes to stop in and see it before the open house Thursday!
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Wine + Wisdom and Open House Night
Feb. 28th, 4:30 - 8:00 PM
This Open House is will be our biggest event of the year (Farm to Fork, aside - hard to beat that one!)  We always host a juicy talk on brain development, courtesy of Mrs. Meagan, in the Main House.  This year, we are opening the event to the greater Austin community by hosting a Sip n’ See to show prospective parents just how awesome our parent and staff community is.  Plan to attend to learn more about the great things your child is doing inside of their classroom each day, as well as have fun showing off your school!

2019/2020 Returning Contracts 📃
Visit the Parent Portal to reserve your child’s space for next year in our Fall/Spring 2019-2020 school year program.  Current families have until March 25th to save their space for the coming year.  Please note we are not able to process contracts without all required documents submitted. If you have any questions surrounding the enrollment process you are welcome to contact us at admin@juliasgardenmontessori.com. 

New Email Addresses 📫
Our staff has new email addresses!  You may continue to use the gmail addresses to contact your classroom with general questions but if you need to reach your lead guide or a particular staff member, please direct your message to the new @juliasgardenmontessori.com address.

New Friends 👭
This month Adieline Ridge and Jette Hovart began classes in the YCC and Veronica Jones will start in the Hay House.  Welcome, new friends and families!  

PTA Meeting Update 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦
Our PTA Meeting was a great success, thanks again to everyone who came last Tuesday evening.  Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13th at 6:30 PM.  An email with more information on how to participate, as well as a link to the minutes on the parent portal, soon to follow!

Parent Portal Glitch 😣
The Parent Portal has a glitch and is kicking folks off the pages they have access to at random. If this happens to you, please email the office and we will take care of it immediately.

Summer School Enrollment ☀️
A reminder that Summer School Enrollment is open to currently enrolled JG students until February 28th. There is still time to reserve your child’s space for one or more of our super fun summer sessions.  After February 28th, we will open enrollment to the greater Austin community.

Parking Reminders 🚙
Please remember to park mindfully on S. 3rd Street, please do not — even for a minute — block driveways and always park with plenty of room for parked cars to exit. Thank you for continuing to be considerate of our neighbors!

Firefly Fridays 🧚🏽‍♀️
Just a reminder that this week ends the first super-successful session of Firefly Enrichment Fridays.  This first 6 weeks has flow by! If you are interested in enrolling for the second session, there is still space.  Highlighted guests slated to return are the Green Ninja, Melodia Bilingual Music, Hedda's Magical Myths + Literature Hour and more!

Structural Changes for 2019/2020 🏠
We are launching a new set up for a new school year: Julia’s Garden will host 3 classrooms for 3 levels of education: I.C., 18 months - 3 years; Primary, 3 - 6 years and Taller, 6 - 9 years.  We will continue to examine each child’s skill set and place them in the environment that will serve them the best, with age only being one of the factors.  When filling out your fall contracts (now on the parent portal), please defer judgement to your child’s lead teacher, or administration, as to which class is appropriate to enroll for next year.  When in doubt, ask!  It is a case-by-case question and conferences over the next two weeks will help to give insight on which classroom will suit your child best in the coming year.

We are redistributing resources to achieve a more balanced staff to serve our parent and student body. Please see the attached document to review the changes we are making for the better in the 2019/2020 school year!

Dates to Remember 🤞

• Parent-Teacher Conferences Feb. 22nd and March 1st
• Open House & Wine + Wisdom Talk  Feb. 28th 4:30 - 8:00 PM
• Sneak Peek Into Taller Week of Feb. 25th starting at 1:00 daily
• Fall/Spring Re-Enrollment Forms Online Now on Parent Portal
• Summer School Enrollment Forms Due February 28th
• Firefly Session II Begins March 8th
• PTA Meeting March 13th @ 6:30 PM in Palazzo
• Spring Break, School Closed March 15th - March 22nd
• Fall Re-Enrollment Contracts Due March 25th
• Parent-Tot Class 6 week Series Begins March 29th

Sincerely,

Katherine Parlette Hunter
Founder/Head of School
Julia’s Garden Montessori 🌸
katherine@juliasgardenmontessori.com
www.juliasgardenmontessori.com
512-790-4094

Greetings, Parents and Staff!


Parent Portal and New Newsletter Guidelines 👨‍👩‍👧
We now have a JG Parent Portal Online where you can readily access curriculum calendars, download the complete school year calendar, campus map, enrollment forms and see announcements and upcoming events. With the addition of this resource, the biweekly newsletter will now offer just reminders and announcements from administration. Pictures and classroom updates can be found on the parent portal or from your child’s lead guide.

***If you did not receive an invitation to participate in the parent portal, please contact administration** 

We also have the past newsletters archived online. Now, you can access all information from JG in one spot: our website!

Facebook Page
Another great way for parents and staff to stay on top of announcements is through our community Facebook page  Here, you can see real-time posts and communicate with the community at large. If you are not yet a member, contact admin@juliasgardenmontessori.com and we will get you connected!

Wine + Wisdom & Open House February 28th 🍷
Please join us for an Open House and Parent Education Talk on Mathematics Inside the Montessori Classroom. We’ll offer wine and cheese on the patio starting at 4:30 PM. This is a fun, social event that is open to both prospective and current parents. We’d love to see a strong representation of current parents so you can share your experience at Julia’s Garden with incoming parents.  Please RSVP and show your JG school spirit this month at Wine + Wisdom on Feb. 28th!

Summer School ☀️
We hope your child can join us for Summer School 2019!  We have two 4-week long sessions to choose from in two classrooms. Exclusive JG enrollment is open until Feb. 28th then we will offer these classes to the greater community. Enroll now and reserve your child's spot in one or both of our super-fun summer sessions!

Parent Teacher Conferences and Classroom Observations
If you have not yet signed up for a Parent-Teacher conference with your child’s lead guide, please contact administration at admin@juliasgardenmontessori.com.  An observation before your meeting is encouraged and can also be scheduled through the office.  Observations are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 - 10:00 AM in most environments.

Taller "Sneak Peek Week" Feb. 25 - 28th 👀
Come and have a first glance look at our elementary program during Taller Sneak Peek Week Feb. 25 - 28th!  Each day starting at 12:45 PM educators and parents of children who are kindergarten-age and up are invited to come after dismissal and experience our newest environment before its open house release.

Parking 🚗 - IMPORTANT!!
Please do not block driveways, even for a minute, during pick-up and drop-off. Be mindful of our neighbors and always give residents enough room to easily back out of their driveways. Thank you!

Dates and Reminders 📆
• President's Day - School Closed 
   February 18th
• PTA Meeting 
   February 19th @ 6:30 PM in Palazzo
 • Fall/Spring Re-Enrollment Forms Online
   February 21st
• Parent-Teacher Conferences
   Feb. 22nd and March 1st
• Open House & Wine + Wisdom Talk
   Feb. 28th 4:30 - 8:00 PM
• Sneak Peek Into Taller
   Week of Feb. 25th starting at 12:45 daily
• Summer School Enrollment Forms Due
   February 28th
• Spring Break - School Closed
   March 15th - 22nd